Austin demands May comes clean over terror budget
Ian Austin has accused the Government of failing in its promise to protect police budgets after senior officers said the counter-terrorism grant was being slashed.
Labour's Dudley North MP said a letter he had seen from the country's four top officers warned that counter terrorism policing and the Protective Security Grant will fall by 7.2 per cent over the next two years.
During Prime Minister's Questions he asked Theresa May if the figures proved that she had failed to protect police budgets.
Mrs May said: "We have protected counter-terrorism policing, we've also put money in to an uplift in armed policing and the commissioner of the Met has made the point that the Met are well-resourced and have a diversity of tools they can use in countering terrorism.
"It's not just about the funding, it's about the powers they need and that's what we're keen to ensure."
Mr Austin said Mrs May had 'not answered the question', and added: "This letter clearly shows that the Prime Minister's promises to safeguard policing and counter terrorism budgets are not being kept."
